Itís a scene that makes everyone in attendance cringe when a player writhes in pain when suffering an injury.

On Monday night at Saugatuck, Megan Phillips, a Fennville girls basketball player, fell to the ground while playing on defense, and wailed in pain while grabbing her left knee.

She limped off the court while fighting back tears. Phillips entered the game tallying three straight double-doubles, and with her team down 26-21 in the third quarter, it didnít look good for the Blackhawks.

But the visiting team rallied around their teammate and erased the deficit minutes later. Fennville went on to win 57-45.

"When Megan Phillips got hurt it was kind of a shot for our girls," Blackhawks coach Ernie Ramirez said. "Weíve relied on her for much of our scoring. (Saugatuck) kind of neutralized her a little bit and sheís a competitor and the girls feed off her energy."

Ramirez asked his team to step up, and a few players answered his call. Stephanie Fuller was one of them who helped Fennville pull away. The point guard kept possession of the ball and was critical in breaking down Saugatuckís full-court press. Fuller led all scorers with 18 points.

"We wanted it more this game and we wanted to pull together as a team," Fuller said. "Our girl got hurt and that just made us want to win it for her. It was motivation."

The Blackhawks (5-6) outscored the Indians (6-4)†12-4 in the final five minutes of the third quarter and led 36-33 heading into the fourth quarter.

Fennville then put on a scoring display from the perimeter. Allison Chappell hit a 3-pointer, then Madyson VanHowe nailed a long jumper afterward. Their back-to-back shots gave the Blackhawks a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter. VanHowe finished with 14 points.

"Those players are gamers,í Saugatuck coach Kevin Tringali said. "Thatís what you want and tonight our kids just didnít hit them. We had a nice run here of four or five wins in a row and weíll have another opportunity to play them again and get some redemption."

Saugatuck came within seven points with about a minute left in the game when Jocelyn Silva hit a 3. But a late turnover and timely free throws from Fennville sealed the win.

Morgan Bush led Saugatuck with 17 points despite drawing double teams when she received the ball in the post. Silva also pitched in with 12 points.

"We need a better effort form our seniors," Tringali said. "With the injury, I would have thought it would have gone in our favor. They could have easily packed it in and they didnít, and thatís a credit to Fennvilleís kids."